Man-Power and the Marginalized

We talk a lot at TheMarginalized.com about human sex trafficking, a form of forced migration and a threat to women and children around the world.

Even with all of the courageous and sacrificial lawyers, law enforcement agents and social workers fighting internationally to put a stop to this crime, nothing can compare with the strategy of ending demand. No demand, no supply.

Because male perpetrators create the vast majority of consumer demand, men in general have a very important role in fighting sex trafficking and resisting the cultural norms that allow this form of slavery to continue so unnoticed (example: the glorification of pimps in pop culture).

Here are some practical ideas from Ms. Magazine that men can do to help combat human sex trafficking. To clarify, the author Jewel Woods mistakenly refers to the issue at hand as human trafficking, but her article specifically addresses sex trafficking, which is only one form of human trafficking.

Thanks to Max, the author whose post we responded to yesterday, for this clip that clarifies and complements his viewpoint on charity and consumerism, and also looks beautiful:

Of course, I would rather be in a world where women should not have to sell their body to make ends meet. But making this trade illegal doesn’t create new sources of income for women in need (though it may indirectly support the porn industry, which is mostly controlled by men), and therefore it does not address the real problem. We are simply taking one potential source of income away from women without creating a new one to replace it. Regarding pimps: as long as prostitution is illegal, they will be needed for protection. They also earn their living as effective commercial agents. Indeed, a recent study illustrated how “prostitutes who work for pimps appear to do better than those who do not, typically working fewer hours and performing fewer tricks but still earning more money.”

Max, to clarify this article is in reference to sex trafficking of women and minors, not prostitution. Sex trafficking is a form of slavery in which women and children are sold as sex slaves by others. Pimps are not protectors in the case of human trafficking – they receive all or most of the money for their slaves’ rapes, and use violence, manipulation, and/or drugs to keep their slaves from going free.

No one is making any claims regarding prostitution. Prostitution is presumably consensual. Being raped as a slave is a different matter. In fact, some abolitionists argue that making prostitution legal might help lower demand for sex trafficking. I encourage you and any other readers to learn more about the difference between the two terms.